FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT NATIONAL ZOO - PAGE 2

The red pandas died after eating rat poison buried in their enclosure. The zebras died of hypothermia and malnutrition; the lion passed away after undergoing anesthesia for an X-ray. The bald eagle? Attacked by a wild animal, it died on Independence Day 2003 (this sentence as published has been corrected in this text). Two years later, the National Zoo is still recovering from the criticism it received in the wake of the deaths, while its counterpart in Chicago, Lincoln Park Zoo, has begun facing similar scrutiny.

By D'Vera Cohn and James V. Grimaldi, The Washington Post | March 6, 2003

Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lawrence Small told a House oversight committee Wednesday that he would support federal inspections of the National Zoo in the wake of a series of animal deaths at the renowned institution. Previously the National Zoo had not been subject to inspections by the Department of Agriculture because it is chartered by Congress, the source of about 80 percent of its funding. But Small told members of the House Administration Committee that such inspections, which are mandatory at the rest of the nation's zoos, would be welcomed.

On a recent hot and humid morning, the towering bald eagle cage at the National Zoo sat empty, a small wilting bouquet hanging from the fence the only hint that a tragedy had occurred here. A curious child ambling by asked, "Where's the bird?" but nothing tells visitors that the 21-year-old bald eagle died here several weeks ago after being attacked by what zoo officials say was probably a red fox. A sign in the enclosure simply invites visitors to the new bald eagle exhibit on the other side of the park.

These days you can find the cheetahs, Zazi and Tumai, yawning in the hilltop shade while butterflies float among the wildflowers and the mountain breezes rustle the trees. Here, in the Blue Ridge foothills, is a straight-up cheetah heaven. Which is precisely what scientists at the National Zoo want. The zoo unveiled its $1 million Cheetah Science Facility on Saturday on 9 acres of its huge Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, Va. The facility, made up of 14 fenced enclosures that can hold 30 cheetahs, will enable zoo scientists to conduct detailed studies on the animals and help them reproduce.

Chinese officials on Tuesday granted Tai Shan, the National Zoo's popular giant panda cub, an extra two years at the Smithsonian Institution park with his parents. Under a panda loan agreement with China, any cub born at the National Zoo would be returned for breeding sometime after its second birthday. Tai Shan turns 2 on July 9 but will remain with his mother, Mei Xiang, and father, Tian Tian, at least until 2009. Chinese Ambassador Zhou Wenzhong presented the zoo with a giant green laminated passport to extend Tai Shan's stay.

The National Zoo's only white tiger was euthanized Wednesday. Zoo officials said 18-year-old Taj had been treated for osteoarthritis and recently was having trouble walking. He was in such pain this week it was decided to euthanize him. Taj was born at the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha in 1984 and was brought to Washington two years later. He never had any offspring. The National Zoo said that since white tigers are not part of any conservation program, it has no plans to breed or exhibit them in the future.

Happy the hippopotamus, the only male of his kind at the National Zoo in Washington, will move this summer to the Milwaukee County Zoo, where he'll have a pool, a beach and two potential girlfriends. The 5,500-pounder is being nudged aside by even bigger animals -- elephants.

The stork won't be visiting the National Zoo's pandas after all. Two weeks after expressing hope Mei Xiang might be pregnant, zoo officials said Wednesday that was not the case. The giant panda was artificially inseminated on May 2 after she failed to successfully mate with Tian Tian. Late last month, zookeepers said Mei Xiang was either pregnant or having a pseudopregnancy, and have confirmed it was the latter. Zoo officials said female pandas always have psuedopregnancies when they ovulate but don't conceive.

Two giant pandas arrived from China on Wednesday to become cherished residents of the nation's capital. The black and white creatures--Mei Xiang, a 2-year-old female, and Tian Tian, a 3-year-old male--reached the National Zoo after a flight in a specially equipped jet dubbed "Panda One" and decorated with huge pictures of the pandas. The pandas will be at the National Zoo for at least 10 years. The Chinese government lent the animals in exchange for a $10 million donation to promote panda conservation in China.

The National Zoo's giant panda Mei Xiang gave birth to a cub Saturday, the Washington, D.C., zoo announced. The mother and cub were doing well, "but the first few days are critical," zoo spokeswoman Peper Long said. The zoo has said any baby would belong to China and probably would be sent there. ---------- Compiled from news services and edited by Patrick Olsen (polsen@tribune.com) and Scott Kleinberg (skleinberg@tribune.com)